A Tonic for the Troops is the second album by Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, released in June 1978. The album included the singles "She's So Modern", "Like Clockwork" and "Rat Trap".
| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
| rev2score = B+
| rev3 = The Irish Times
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| rev4 = Mojo
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| rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
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| rev6 = Uncut
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Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson described A Tonic for the Troops as "an inventive and melodically forceful piece of work, glossily ingratiating all the way", but also found the band "far too impressed by their own wit to be particularly incisive or convincing musically." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was more positive, remarking that while the album "does turn rather campy at times... it will certainly do."
Track listing
All songs written by Bob Geldof except where indicated.
LP British version
Side 1
- "Like Clockwork" (Bob Geldof, Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe)
- "Blind Date"
- "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun"
- "Living in an Island"
- "Don't Believe What You Read"
Side 2
- "She's So Modern" (Geldof, Johnnie Fingers)
- "Me and Howard Hughes"
- "Can't Stop"
- "(Watch Out For) The Normal People"
- "Rat Trap" and AllMusic.
The Boomtown Rats
- Bob Geldof – vocals, saxophone
- Pete Briquette – bass, vocals
- Gerry Cott – guitar
- Johnnie Fingers – keyboards, vocals
- Simon Crowe – drums, vocals
- Garry Roberts – guitar, vocals
Additional musicians
- Alan Holmes – saxophone
Technical
- The Boomtown Rats – production
- Stuff Brown – engineering
- Fin Costello – photography
- Chalkie Davies – photography
- Tim Friese-Greene – engineering
- Hothouse – artwork, design
- Chuck Loyola – painting
- Robert John "Mutt" Lange – production
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Chart (1978–79)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| style="text-align:center;"| 95
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